The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today, Tuesday, that the final of the Champions League will be held between Al-Ahly of Egypt, the defending champion, and Wydad Casablanca, at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.
CAF said on its website that the match will take place on the evening of Monday, May 30 at 19:00 GMT at Wydad Stadium, after previous reports stated that the final could be held in Rabat.
Al-Ahly was furious after the CAF decision to hold the Champions League final in Morocco for the second year in a row, and announced that he would play the final anywhere, but he would resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kef defended itself and said that it had received two successful files from Morocco and Senegal to host the final, then Senegal withdrew, while Egypt did not progress.
Will Al-Ahly withdraw?
CAF's confirmation of holding the match in Morocco came amid Egyptian public anger and calls for Al-Ahly to withdraw from the final match.
Mohamed Abu Trika, the star of Al-Ahly and the former Egyptian national team, was the most prominent advocate of Al-Ahly’s withdrawal, through a tweet through his official account on Twitter.
Congratulations to Al-Ahly Club for reaching the final and better luck for ES Setif.. Sometimes withdrawal and not being present is a championship in itself. I wish the Al-Ahly club’s board of directors to withdraw from the tournament in order to preserve its position and prestige against the injustice of CAF.. I am sorry for my opinion in public, but I did not find another way. to our beloved club
— Mohamed Aboutrika (@trikaofficial) May 14, 2022
Perhaps the pressure on the Al-Ahly administration will increase after the confirmation of CAF, which may be the real start of a new crisis in African football.
And the Continental Confederation, which previously hinted at considering a return to the old system, announced that the final of the African Confederation Cup will be held on May 20 in Nigeria.
Morocco's Nahda Berkane will play South Africa's Orlando Pirates for the title of the least powerful club, and the final will start at 19:00 GMT as well.